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Volume 10 Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change
Page 21
Climate Congress 2019
May 10-11, 2019
conferenceseries .com
May 10-11, 2019 Bangkok, Thailand
8th World Climate Congress
Carlos Frederico Duarte Rocha et al., J Earth Sci Clim Change 2019, Volume 10
DOI: 10.4172/2157-7617-C2-059
Natural and artificial microhabitats of an endemic lizard ( Liolaemus lutzae) threatened
by climate change: Debris as useful microhabitats to mitigate hours of restriction in
lizard thermal niche
Carlos Frederico Duarte Rocha1 , Catia M Militao1, Patricia Almeida-Santos1 and Paulo Nogueira-Costa2
1Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil
2Federal University of Southern and Southeastern Para, Brazil
The world’s largest scientific research involving populations of lizards has recently found a worrying
pattern of extinctions of lizard species resulting from global temperature increase of planet, showing
massive lizard extinctions simultaneously in all continents, by alteration of their thermal niche due severe
restriction of number of hours of activity, compromising most physiological characteristics. It is predicted
that remaining current climate change trends, about 20% of all species of lizards would be extinguished by
2080. Additional appropriated microhabitats are crucial to mitigate the effects by allowing lizards to keep
preferred body temperatures along a larger number of hours of activity. One of the lizard species predicted to
go extinct was the endangered sand lizard Liolaemus lutzae, endemic of Rio de Janeiro State in Brazil living
only along a narrow strip of beach habitat 50-100 m wide along 200 km of coast. We studied use of natural
and anthropogenic microhabitats by L. lutzae in its habitat (Praia Grande, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), evaluating
how this use was influenced by thermal characteristics of microhabitats. We recorded frequency of different
microhabitats used, operative microhabitat temperature (Te), individuals-body temperature (Tb ºC). For
operative microhabitat temperature we used HOBO® data loggers. Individuals used seven microhabitat
types, being vegetation-covering ground the most frequently natural-microhabitat used. Plastics and wood
debris were the most frequently used anthropogenic used as artificial-microhabitats. Models installed among
vegetation registered highest averages of Te (59.9 ºC). Tb of individuals between vegetation (33.5±2.2, 28.4-
38.2, N=70) remained more constant throughout the day than those of plastic (32.3±2.5, 39-27.8, N=47)
or under wood (31.3±3.7, 24-40.2, N=65). Data indicated that L. lutzae uses vegetation and debris of
anthropic origin deposited in its habitat to maximize its thermoregulation and that the debris constitute
useful thermoregulation sites, which can mitigate negative effects of hours of restrictions imposed by climate
changes to its thermal niche.
Biography
Carlos Frederico Duarte Rocha has completed his PhD in Science (Ecology) obtained at Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
in 1992. He is a Full Professor at Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His main interests are in ecology and
conservation of amphibians and reptiles. He has published a total of 412 scientific articles in 59 different international scientific journals and in
35 different Brazilian journals and published or organized ten books, mainly on biodiversity and conservation. He was in the coordination of the
Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution of UERJ from 2008 to 2016 and he is Level I-A Researcher (Higher level of Brazilian Scientists
attributed by the Brazilian Council of Science and Technology - CNPq) of the Brazilian Environmental Ministry.